Highly luminescent and uniform patterned quantum dot color converters via ligand engineering

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Patterned quantum dot color converters (QDCCs) convert blue light to green and red light at the pixel level, thus having potential applications in combination with micro-LED and OLED. Lithography is a promising method to fabricate the QDCCs, however, it is still a challenge to achieve highly luminescent and stable patterned QD-photoresist (PR) thick films. Herein, a strategy is developed to fabricate high-performance patterned QDCCs using the lithography process. Firstly, the QDs are modified by replacing their native hydrophobic ligands to achieve compatibility with PRs. Then, a new ligand, diphenylphosphine oxide (DPPO), is introduced to remedy surface defects of the modified QDs. Lastly, conventional lithography is adopted to fabricate QDCCs with a pattern size of 50 × 10 µm and a thickness of 8 µm. The passivation with DPPO is critical to the luminescent properties of the QD-PR films. The DPPO substantially increases the PLQYs of the PR-compatible QDs and the QD-PR films, achieving a supreme PLQY of 71.7% for the green QD-PR films. The present work might shed light on improving the performance of patterned QDCCs and accelerate their applications in new types of display technology.